• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Eat Your Career

  • Need a speaker?
    • Course Catalog
    • Speaker Request Form
  • Blog
    • Archives
  • About
    • Contact
    • Testimonials
  • Success Store
    • Programs
    • Products
    • The Learning Lab
  • Log In
    • Your Account
  • 0 items
  • Career Advancers
  • Career Changers
  • Job Seekers
  • Administrative Professionals

March 27, 2018 By Chrissy Scivicque 1 Comment

The Secret to Motivation

Tweet
Share
Share6
Pin
6 Shares

I’m currently listening to the book, “The Motivation Myth” by Jeff Haden. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s been incredibly motivating! I’m only about halfway through and, already, I can confidently say it’s one of the best books I’ve read on the topic of goal achievement. If you’ve set some lofty goals this year (whether personal or professional) and you’re struggling to make headway, consider this book a “must read.”

Over the next few weeks, I anticipate that I’ll write several articles based on what I’m learning. Today, I want to share with you a main premise of the book. This is a concept I have long understood intuitively, and perhaps you have too. But the way it’s described in the book really resonates for me.

According to the author, the secret to getting and staying motivated is simple: Break a sweat (literally or figuratively).

Essentially, he’s saying that action is the key. With action, you earn small successes, which motivate you to keep going.

Motivation is the result of achievement, says Haden, not a prerequisite for it.

So, while we remain inactive and wait for motivation to strike, we will never actually “find” it. Motivation is only created as the result of doing what you need to do to be successful. It’s a wonderful self-propelled cycle: Work, feel motivated, work some more, feel more motivation, and so on.

That means, as you approach a new goal, you probably won’t feel totally motivated at first—and along the way, you will probably experience times when motivation wanes. But you have to take the action anyway…especially during those times. That’s the only way things will shift.

The feeling you get from taking action is truly more motivating than the goal itself. This is why it’s easier to stay in a groove than to get in a groove. You leverage the power of inertia.

I’ve been feeling unmotivated to write blog posts lately. But you know what? I’m doing it right now. As I write, I literally feel my motivation growing. For some reason, I always forget how much I love writing. And the longer I wait to do it, the more of a chore it becomes.

But today, when I complete this article and post in online for the world to see, I’ll have a real earned success under my belt. Then, all I have to do is leverage that wonderful feeling and write a few more. I believe the key here is consistency, so I can’t wait a week and expect that motivation to stick around. I need to use the motivation I build right away, so I can continue to build more.

If you’re struggling to find your motivation for something, I encourage you to take at least one small step today. When you do, bask in the glory of your success. Allow that feeling to fill you with pride. Then, tomorrow, I want you to look for that feeling again and do whatever it takes to get there. Kick that wonderful motivation cycle into gear! Before long, it will come more naturally. But for now, let’s all just try to break a sweat today.

Stay tuned for more golden nuggets of wisdom inspired by “The Motivation Myth,” by Jeff Haden.

10 Career Limiting Moves

10 Career Limiting Moves and How to Avoid Them

Career advancement is challenging! You can’t afford to make mistakes.

Get the Downloadable FREE Guide

Filed Under: General Career Advice Tagged With: Motivation

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kristin Parker says

    October 22, 2019 at 12:09 PM

    This is so true! This explains why I love to mark stuff off my to do list, and then I look for another one I can knock off the list!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect

  • facebook-official
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • linkedin
  • envelope

Do You Have a Professional Development Plan?

Available on Amazon

ALREADY READ IT?
Please leave a review!

ALREADY READ IT?
Please leave a review!

ALREADY READ IT?
Please leave a review!

Footer

QUICK LINKS

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Testimonials
  • Career Success Library
  • Career Resources for Administrative Professionals
  • Resources for Career Changers
  • Resources for Career Advancers
  • Resources for Job Seekers

Products

  • Build Your Professional Development Plan
  • The Proactive Professional
  • Personal Branding for Professional Success
  • Resume & Cover Letter Toolkit
  • Rock Your Interview
  • Build Your Professional Portfolio
  • Networking Naturally
  • Guide to Goal Setting & Goal Getting
  • Modern Business Etiquette

Services & Programs

  • Speaking & Training
  • Career Coaching
  • Resumes & Cover Letters
  • DISC Assessment & Consult
  • F.I.N.D. Your Nourishing Career
  • G.R.O.W. Your Nourishing Career
  • Job Seeker Jump Start
  • ELEVATE Admins (On-Site Training)
  • Next Wave Leaders (On-Site Training)

© 2021 CCS Ventures, LLC
Chrissy Scivicque
720.282.9431
Privacy Policy
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.